


It Started With a Shit-uation

by 777777799



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 03:22:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11371554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/777777799/pseuds/777777799
Summary: So when Minseok looked down to the end of his driveway, he certainly didn't expect to see his overly excitable new neighbor with his dumb little swaying apple ponytail and his two weird as hell dogs taking a shit by his mailbox (the dogs were taking a shit, not his neighbor).Involves Minseok's cat, Tan, and Luhan's cats Xiao Huang and Zhu. RIP Zhu :(





	It Started With a Shit-uation

What Minseok hated, and perhaps feared the most, was any sort of disorder, uncleanliness, messiness, or change from the norm. He hated surprises or conversational topics that strayed from the things he knew about or had straight answers to. So, generally speaking, he greatly disliked hanging around others that could possibly throw him a curve ball or mess up the very constant and fixed lifestyle he led. Minseok enjoyed being safe. All he needed was his house, car, job, and cat.

 

The mornings began with waking up at 5:30 am. He would rise, shower, shave, brush his teeth, get dressed in a spotless white dress shirt, pants, belt and tie, eat breakfast, feed Tan, and head out to work by exactly 6:15. There was no one around that early to bother him as he climbed in his car, spotted Tan in his upstairs window, waved, and went on his way. The morning joggers and dog walkers usually came by at 6:45, and there were no stops in his neighborhood for buses that picked up school children. His introverted personality wouldn’t know what to do if he had to say good morning to every dog walker that came by. On the weekends, when Minseok didn’t work, he stayed in until the coast was clear. Only then would he run his usual errands.

 

Tan was quite similar to her owner; extremely introverted and avoided other humans, as well as cats, as much as she could. When strays came by the window, she would spend hours trying to avoid the windows until the stray became discouraged and left. She only cuddled with Minseok in the winter months or when she could sense that he was down. On the rare occasion that Minseok had house guests (some coworkers or family that forced their way over), she would hide under her owner’s bed (which was always exactly what Minseok would rather do than be catering to visitors). Although she seemed cold, Minseok wouldn’t want her any other way. Tan never begged or urged for food; never wanted to go crazy with cat toys or chase bugs around the house. Every morning she would watch her owner drive away, and when he was no longer in sight, she would find a sunny spot and nap, only waking when the sun changed angles and left her in the shadows, or once Minseok arrived home at exactly 5:15 pm. Upon coming home, Minseok fed himself, fed Tan, watched the news, did some work at home, and went to bed at 10:00.

 

If you asked him, Minseok couldn’t really say if he was happy living this way, or not. Although, he did feel that his lifestyle left him feeling “satisfactory,” and that was good enough for him. Taking chances could mean something better, but he could also end up a lot worse. To him, it wasn’t worth the gamble. He wasn’t sad, but wasn’t excited for each day either. But most importantly, he was safe from the unknown, the abnormal and the unpredictability of interacting too heavily with society.

 

-

 

Minseok first met Luhan one Saturday morning as he deemed it safe enough, with no one outside, to go out and water his petunias. The sound of the water rushing out of the garden hose was enough to distract him so he didn’t notice a car pull in to the driveway of his neighbor’s house. When he finally noticed it, after he was content with the amount of water that doused his flowers, he couldn’t help but jump a bit. The car that pulled in next door was lugging a storage unit, and a man he didn’t recognize got out of the car, unlocked the house, and went inside. Minseok hadn’t even realized his neighbor had put his house up for sale and moved out. Truthfully, he didn’t really know what his previous neighbor looked like.

 

Minseok stood in his bed of petunias watching his new neighbor make multiple trips in and out of the house, carrying various items from the storage unit. He saw two small carrier cases and a few leashes, so he assumed that the man had dogs. The man came back out to the storage unit and stared inside for quite some time, pondering something. Minseok couldn’t tell what it was he was staring at, until the man was hauling out a huge set of drawers. He could tell from a distance that his neighbor was struggling, cursing, and probably throwing out his back all at once as he tried to lift the piece of furniture from the unit. And Minseok, feeling the “unfortunate” pull of obligation to be a good human being, decided to help the poor guy out.

 

“Do you… need any help there?” Minseok asked slowly.

 

“Oh!” The man fumbled a bit, startled. His back was turned to Minseok so neither of them could see each other’s faces. “Um… no, actually I think I’ve got this…” Minseok watched him struggle (and curse) for another few minutes, before he internally yelled at himself and went over to take the piece of furniture out of the man’s hands, which he was able to lift it easily and set down on the ground. The man… or boy? looked stunned and stared at Minseok with his huge brown eyes. He didn’t seem to be over eighteen years old; his features remained soft, delicate and extremely youthful.

 

“I had that handled you know!”

 

“By ‘handled’ you mean struggling for ten minutes?” Minseok shot back. He turned away in the direction of his house. “You’re very welcome,” he added with annoyance. He was annoyed with both himself and the scrawny boy that is his new neighbor. The boy called out to him again.

 

“Oh, yeah! Thanks! By the way, I’m new around here and I’m having this housewarming party tomorrow night at 6:00 pm so do you think you can come? Being my new neighbor and all?”

 

“Uh…” Minseok started while turning around to face the boy.

 

“I’ll see you there!! I’m Luhan by the way and, oh! Hey, wait! Can you help me lift this back into my house? Neighbor? Neeiiiggghhhhbbbbooooorrrr!!!??? Hellooo?” Luhan called after Minseok who swiftly walked back to his house and slammed the door without looking back.

 

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself.

 

-

 

The decision whether or not to attend Luhan’s party wasn’t a hard one to make at all. So of course, he decided against it. Six o’clock came around and he made dinner for himself, put food out for Tan, and watched the evening news. Luhan’s party was completely forgotten as he watched the news anchor, Park Yoo-ra, talk about the day’s events. Gay marriage was legalized in Taiwan, some Kim Jun guy won the lottery’s grand prize, crying and yelling “I HOPE MY EX-HUSBAND CAN SEE ME NOW,” and two celebrities, one Korean and one Chinese, bonded over their fluffy white dogs, posted pictures, and apparently “broke the internet.” Whatever that meant. Minseok didn’t really keep up with pop culture anymore. Eventually he ended up watching some Chinese drama, where the lead actor had a super cute dimple, and falling asleep with Tan sleeping silently on the other couch.

 

Minseok was dreaming about winning the lottery himself, with money raining down all over him and Tan, when a “ka-ching” noise in his dream soon became the ringing of his doorbell once he came to. He looked at his phone. It was about 9:00 pm. He groggily got up and headed for the door. Tan woke up and followed at his heels. Peering through the peephole, he could see Luhan standing on his front porch, illuminated by the porch lights. Minseok sighed, finally feeling a bit bad for ditching Luhan’s party, and opened the door out of guilt. He expected Luhan to seem unhappy, or even annoyed that Minseok wasn’t able to make it and was clearly home the entire time, but he perked up as soon as the door opened.

 

“Hi, neighbor! I brought you some leftovers from the party since you weren’t able to make it. My friend’s an excellent cook! I promise you won’t be disappointed! If it were me that did the cooking, however… that would be a whole different story.” Luhan chuckled nervously and smiled brightly. Minseok could only stare at Luhan’s chipper demeanor in disbelief as Tan wrapped around his legs in an attempt to get out of the house. Luhan held the container of food out and Minseok took it slowly; his eyes never leaving Luhan’s gaze. Finally, Luhan broke the silence once more.

 

“My friends helped me move the rest of the furniture into my house. It took quite a few of us. I don’t know how you did it! What’s your name, by the way? Oh, and it’s okay that you weren’t able to come! Don’t feel bad! Maybe another time. Or maybe you didn’t come because you’re afraid of dogs and you saw the carriers and leashes I had? Well no need to fear! Xiao Huang and Zhu are-“

 

“Um, my name is Minseok thank you for the food sorry I couldn’t come I’m not feeling well and I have to go so good night,” Minseok spouted quickly, bowing slightly at Luhan before closing the door. Luhan bowed as well and waved happily until the door was completely shut.

 

“See you around, neighbor! Hope you feel better!” Luhan called.

 

Minseok sighed and put the food in the refrigerator. He would have it for dinner the next night. He turned and realized that Tan was still sitting by the front door. It was odd because that was the spot that she avoided most. Come to think of it, she never before had followed Minseok to the door when he opened it, and she certainly never tried to get outside. It was strange, but he let her be. It was a matter to be dealt with at another time when the urge for sleep wasn’t tugging at his eyelids.

 

-

 

The next morning, a Monday, Minseok awoke at his usual time, 5:30 am. He left his house, per usual, at 6:15 and breathed easily not seeing a single soul out and about yet. Until he heard the jingling of metal and footsteps: a dog walker. He got in his car to shield himself and peered over his steering wheel. All the way at the end of his long driveway he could see a small, fluffy ponytail of warm, brown hair sticking straight up, making its wearer look like he had an apple stem. He soon recognized the man as his new neighbor, Luhan, even though he couldn’t make out his features.

 

Luhan was walking two small dogs. One was dark grey, and the other was yellow. They were quite small and oddly shaped, but Minseok just assumed they appeared that way because he needed new glasses and contacts and kept neglecting to order them. Minseok groaned and sunk down lower in the car’s seat. He waited and waited for Luhan to leave the area, and take his dogs with him. Just when Luhan seemed to be leaving, the grey dog plopped a “number two” on the grass right next to Minseok’s mailbox, and the yellow one followed suit. Although Luhan was dutiful in cleaning up after his pets, it still disgusted the hell out of Minseok and his clean freak tendencies. Luhan then proceeded to take his dogs on a walk, and once the coast was clear, Minseok could finally leave for work. He was upset the entire day about the turd incident, and how he had left for work at 6:27 rather than his usual 6:15.

 

-

 

It wasn't that Minseok was afraid of dogs per say... he just had a strong dislike for them, their habits, their barks and of course, their waste products. Why should they be allowed to use the entire world as their toilet? Even after cleaning up you could still tell there used to be a turd there, due to the pungent smell and disgusting remnants. And after peeing the lawn still remained wet. Yes, Minseok preferred cats that seemed to avoid the world just as much as he did. After all, they did their business in a litter box which was easy to clean and gave off no smell. Dogs were too noisy. Too in your face and wild and practically unpredictable. Their hyper attitude drove him crazy.

 

So on the fifth day of Luhan coming by, the exact times when Minseok left and also came home for work, and allowing his dogs to take care of business on his lawn, Minseok had quite enough. Once Luhan left, he marched outside and stuck a sign in the ground right next to his mailbox. He had hand written the sign the night before and was extremely proud of it. It read: "Please do not allow your dogs to go to the bathroom on my property. Thank you." He had written it in all red so it would certainly be noticed. Although Luhan was annoying, he seemed like a decent guy who would probably follow the sign once he spotted it. After Minseok looked on proudly at his sign, he hopped in his car and drove off to work slightly happier than usual, even if this was the 5th time he left at 6:27. After all, it was a Friday and he most likely solved his dog problem.

 

Minseok arrived home at his usual 5:15. He hummed along to some pop song on the radio. It was a collaboration between news anchor Park Yoo-ra's brother, Park C why what's his face and Further South Moving or something of the directional sort. Sometimes Minseok felt like an outdated grandpa stuck in a now 27 year old's body (his birthday was a week before). He pulled into his garage and cut the engine so the radio stopped. He'll never know what he should be loving because the song cut out at "love is a high, we feelin' alive, you lovin' the-"

 

So when Minseok looked down to the end of his driveway, he certainly didn't expect to see his overly excitable new neighbor with his dumb little swaying apple ponytail and his two weird as hell dogs taking a shit by his mailbox (the dogs were taking a shit, not his neighbor).

 

Minseok groaned loudly and slammed his head down on the steering wheel, resulting in the horn honking crisp and loud. He jerked his head up to see that the horn had caught Luhan's attention, and his new neighbor was now waving frantically with a blue bag full of turd in his hand to go with it. Minseok tried his best to put on a friendly smile and gave a small wave back as he waited for the garage door to close. Once it was all the way down, he slammed his head on the steering wheel again, holding that position and leaving the horn to sound constantly with no break.

 

-

 

Minseok paced around his kitchen deep in thought. Tan, also deep in thought, was perched on the windowsill that overlooked Luhan's house.

 

"Tan, I just don't understand. Luhan seems like a good guy, right?"

 

 _Yes of course he does. I don't understand what he did either_ , Minseok imagined Tan replying.

 

"Why, then, would he disregard that sign I put? Don't you just hate people?!"

 

_Yes I do. I also hate dogs. Those dogs also so gross._

 

"What do I do? Should I talk to him? God, he's so annoying. He's like a dog himself with all of that energy..."

 

_Hmm that's like a last resort. We hate talking to people as much as we hate people in general. And dogs._

 

"That's true... maybe he was preoccupied today. Maybe he won't do it again and he'll notice the sign. We'll wait."

 

_You're so smart, Minseok._

 

"Thanks, Tan. I know I am."

 

-

 

For the next week, the routine continued. Minseok would have to leave at 6:27 just to avoid Luhan and his dogs that always did their business on his lawn. Minseok would curse Luhan all the way to work and rant to himself. He would arrive home at 5:15, be forced to wave to Luhan and then sulk for the rest of the evening in his house while complaining to Tan, who found a new favorite spot staring at Luhan's home. Minseok scolded Tan multiple times saying "Tan get away from the window! What if the enemy SEES YOU?!"

 

As the next Friday rolled around, Minseok was sure that Luhan had seen the sign by now and was just being an asshole by continuing to ignore it.

 

"Tan, I think I've gotta talk to him."

 

_I agree._

 

"I don't want to..."

 

_It's okay, Minseok. You're the best and can do anything you set your mind to._

 

"Awww. Tan, you flatter me."

 

_I'm only telling the truth._

 

"But why can't you be the one to talk to him?"

 

_I'm a cat, Minseok._

 

"But you talk to me?"

 

_Is that what you call this?_

 

"You're right... Okay... here I go..." Minseok took a deep breath and marched out the door. He was going to protect his home from dog germs and from an annoying asshole that disregarded signs and was too hyper for his own good. He wanted the safety of his routine back.

 

Minseok hesitated before ringing Luhan's doorbell. He closed his eyes and poked it quickly like it was hot to the touch, jumping slightly when he heard it ring. He heard a "One minute!" from inside the house. His heart sped up from nervousness and his palms became sweaty and clammy.

 

The door finally opened to reveal Luhan and his apple hair. He was in a baggy grey t-shirt and black sweatpants. It seemed like a unicorn barfed over him because he was covered head to toe in colorful paint. There was even a streak of blue on his forehead. In the background Minseok could hear the radio going where some idol was on a talk show and was speaking about his love for chicken.

 

As soon as Luhan spotted Minseok, he smiled warmly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Minseok beat him to it.

 

"Listen, Luhan... can we talk?"

 

"Oh, sure. We can talk out here because my house smells like paint. Let me just close the door so Zhu and Xiao Huang don't get out." Luhan stepped outside and closed the door behind him. They sat on the porch steps.

 

"Um... actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Luhan tilted his head to the side in confusion. Minseok sighed. "So um... Did you happen to see the sign I put near my mailbox?"

 

"Yes I did! I actually wanted to ask you about that. You see-"

 

"Why didn't you follow it? You saw it, so why?"

 

"That's what I'm trying to say. I saw it but I-"

 

"You seemed like a nice person and all and yet you keep ignoring it?"

 

"No, no, I just can't read-"

 

"I don't want excuses! I don't want an apology I just need you to stop."

 

"You see, Korean isn't my first lang-"

 

Minseok sighed abruptly, cutting him off yet again. "Listen, just don't have your dogs come and mess around on my lawn anymore and we won't have any problems."

 

"Xiao Huang and Zhu aren't even-"

 

"Where are your parents anyway? Disrespecting your elder like this. I'm at least nine years older than you. Maybe more seeing that you're covered in paint like a child."

 

"I don't live with my parents. I'm twenty-"

 

"Whatever. Just leave me alone. Leave my house alone and don't let your dogs around my yard." Minseok got up and left, retreating to his own house.

 

Luhan could tell Minseok was in his own world now, ranting and raging about Luhan without really wanting to listen. His small, adorable neighbor was incredibly stubborn. But still adorable, especially when angry. Luhan, at the least, just wanted to make him understand. He didn't want to make enemies just within his first couple of weeks in the new neighborhood.

 

-

 

After Minseok spoke to Luhan, he saw Luhan taking his dogs in the other direction and would see Luhan converse with and wave to his other neighbor. Minseok felt slightly jealous. Maybe he really was some lonely old fart craving some interaction, although he didn’t want to admit it or give in and start socializing. Minseok had only seen the guy in the house on the other side of Luhan a couple of times, and knew his name was Kim Jongdae. He and his wife, Baekhee, were also too happy-go-lucky for Minseok's taste. Together, they owned two beagles. Gross. Dog people.

 

Jongdae and Baekhee were the only people in the neighborhood who had Minseok's number for emergency purposes or whenever they or Minseok were traveling and needed someone to keep watch on each other's houses. Other than that, they hardly spoke to one another thanks to Minseok's hermit lifestyle. Minseok gave his number out to practically no one, so it came as a surprise that his phone rang and unfamiliar numbers popped up on the screen. The area code was local, so he assumed Jongdae and Baekhee changed their number.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hi it's Luhan."

 

"I told you to leave me alone.” Minseok was about to end the call.

 

"Wait! Please, wait… I just... I wanted to apologize. If I had an issue with the sign I should've come to you sooner and I swear Zhu and Xiao Huang will not be anywhere near your yard ever again," Luhan said quickly, knowing Minseok was about to hang up. There was a moment of silence.

 

"So is that all?" Minseok asked impatiently.

 

"Uhhh there's one more thing." Silence. Luhan took this as a cue to keep going. "Umm my birthday is in a couple weeks and I was planning on having a little get-together? It's April 20th at 5:00 pm. Jongdae and Baekhee will be there. They gave me your number. I hope you don't mind..." more silence. "Hello?"

 

"Well actually I do mind so tell them that, please. And no, I will not be able to make it. Why did you have to call me rather than stick something in my mailbox? Obviously you know where I live."

 

"Um I'll tell them that. I’m so so sorry for bothering you,” Luhan said softly. He sounded extremely apologetic and it softened Minseok just a bit. He almost felt bad. “I would've written the invitation but I can't write or read Korean very well... sorry again for the intrusion." Minseok heard a click as Luhan hung up. Minseok threw his phone across the room and buried his face in the couch cushions, groaning.

 

_You could've handled that better._

 

"I know, Tan. I know."

 

-

 

Over the course of the next week, Minseok hardly saw Luhan at all. He really only saw him the couple times he took out the trash or went to the store. No more walks with his dogs or chatting with Baekhee and Jongdae. And every time Minseok did spot Luhan, he wasn't his usual bright self. He looked more tired and sad and his feet seemed to drag along the ground. His hair was always a mess and instead of paint stains covering his clothes, there were only coffee splotches. Although Minseok didn't want to admit it, he sort of felt bad and wondered what happened. He thought back to the phone conversation he had with Luhan and wondered if it had to do with Luhan's mood. He rejected the invite to his party quite harshly and suddenly, so Luhan probably knew he wasn't busy on April 20th, he just didn't want to come. To think that it was probably his fault that Luhan’s clear eyes lost their shine and that he started to become a bit of a hermit just like Minseok, broke his heart in two. Maybe Minseok didn’t enjoy others, and maybe he was afraid of change, but he wasn’t heartless. At least, not anymore.

 

Minseok imagined Luhan's youthful face falling as soon as he rejected him so abruptly, and his eyes becoming as dead as they had been for the past week. Even Tan seemed upset for some reason. She was antsy and kept pawing at the window that faced Luhan's house. Minseok found himself feeling extremely guilty about how he had treated his new neighbor, who never once gave him a taste of his own rudeness. The only problem with him was ignoring the sign in the beginning. Minseok thought back to the phone conversation they had, remembering the last bit of what Luhan said before he hung up.

 

"Luhan had said that he wasn't proficient in reading or writing in Korean... come to think of it, "Luhan" doesn't sound Korean. Neither does "Xiao Huang" or "Zhu.'" He pondered it for a moment.

 

_Is it possible he wasn't able to read what your sign said?_

 

"Shh, Tan, I'm thinking... is it possible that he wasn't able to read what the sign said?" Tan blinked and yawned. "Yeah, yeah I'm a genius!"

 

_Totally._

 

"Good I feel awful... yelling at him like that... he looked so hurt... you know other people's dogs probably use my lawn as toilet too and I just don't see them. And other lawns are toilets but other house owners don't mind like I do... he even cleans after his dogs and not everyone does that...he gives me a cute smile every day when he sees me. Except for the past week when he's been so sad looking..." Minseok sank further down into his couch cushions.

 

_You've been a real asshole, Minseok._

 

"Yeah. I know."

 

_You need to make it up to him._

 

"How?"

 

-

 

Minseok spent at least an hour deciding what to wear to Luhan's party. And before that, he spent two hours at the store picking something out to give as a gift. He ended up getting some stain removal supplies because of all the paint stains on Luhan's clothes (and Minseok was a bit of a clean freak, after all). It was a very practical choice. Minseok also picked up two mini koala hats that were made for small dogs and cats. Although he didn't officially know Chinese, he did have Google translate and tried his best to write out a card in Luhan's native language.

 

As he stood on Luhan's porch once again, he became a bundle of nerves. He wasn't even sure if Luhan wanted him there anymore after declining the invite without so much as a second thought. Someone must have spotted him out there because the door opened right before he put his hand up to knock.

 

Luhan stood in the door frame, staring at Minseok with wide eyes. Minseok gave a small wave and Luhan broke out into a smile. It wasn't as bright as before, but still a beautiful sight to see. He ushered Minseok in, still smiling. Luhan didn’t look like a grungy hipster mess anymore. His hair was down and swept to the side and he was wearing jeans black jeans with holes and a white t-shirt. Paint free.

 

"I... here..." Minseok shoved the gift bag toward Luhan who thanked him and placed it on a table with the others.

 

"I'm very glad you could make it, Minseok!" Luhan said; his usual happy self. Although, there was still something deeper that seemed to show in his glassy eyes.

 

Minseok was taken to the kitchen where everyone else was hanging around. The model of Luhan's house was the exact same as Minseok's, except everything was mirrored and in reverse. Luhan introduced each guest one by one.

 

There was Taemin who was studying to be a dancer, Jongdae and Baekhee of course, Yifan, or Kris, who was sulking due to his recent divorce, Kyungsoo who was the excellent chef who cooked for Luhan's housewarming party, Amber and Victoria who were Luhan's friends since high school and Yixing who was a singer, dancer and actor but took time out of his busy schedule to go to his best friend's birthday celebration. Luhan had known Yixing since they were children.

 

Minseok pointed to Yixing. "You... I think I was watching a drama with you in it a while back... Operational Attractions? Or something..."

 

"Operation Love," Yixing said through giggles. That dimple was even cuter in person.

 

"And this is my lovely neighbor, Minseok," Luhan said. Minseok gave a tiny wave to everyone who smiled and greeted him. Once the conversation started up again, they began to ask him loads of questions. Everyone else was already familiar with each other, except for Minseok.

 

"So what do you do for a living? Luhan said you wake up as early as he does because he sees you before you go to work."

 

"I work in an architecture company."

 

"You have a cat, right? Luhan said he sees your cat staring at him through your window"

 

"Uhhh I do... have a cat... Her name is Tan…"

 

"Are you into kpop? Or music? Luhan loves to sing."

 

"I mean I used to be but I figured I'm older now so it wouldn’t really be appropriate..."

 

"Do you like soccer? Luhan likes soccer."

 

"Yeah I do, actually."

 

The rest of the night progressed like this. Most of the questions people asked had something to do with Luhan. It was his birthday after all, but everyone just seemed so curious about his relation to Minseok. And surprisingly, at his first social event in years, he wasn't as nervous as he thought he'd be when the questions kept coming.

 

Once they all ate the delicious food Kyungsoo made, Jongdae and Baekhee came out with a cake topped with candles and a picture of Bambi made of icing. The word on the cake read in English "Happy Birthday our little deer." Minseok didn't understand the reference to Bambi or deer, but it was clear that everyone else in them room did. He realized they were next door neighbors that had seen each other more than just a few times, and yet he knew practically nothing about Luhan. Even Jongdae and Baekhee seemed to know a lot more.

 

As Luhan blew out his candles and silently made a wish, Minseok counted the number of candles on the cake. He counted 27. All this time Minseok thought he was a high school or college student, rich enough to afford his own house, but he was actually only about a month younger than Minseok. And to think he asked where his parents were and called him a child. Minseok internally face-palmed himself. He didn't realize he _actually_ face-palmed himself until everyone was staring at him and Yixing asked if he was okay.

 

After cake, Luhan started opening presents. He got new soccer cleats, a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey, obnoxiously colored underpants, a Tony Tony Chopper plushie, a DVD of Tokyo Ghoul Root A, “Off-White” hoodies, a gift card to his favorite art store and a few fluffy hats. Each gift seemed to fit Luhan's colorful personality quite well. Minseok's gifts were last. He was feeling quite insecure about what he got, although Luhan seemed like the type of person who would love whatever you gave him.

 

He first pulled out the cleaning supplies and let out a loud laugh. His chin became distorted and blended into his neck as he cracked up. He looked ugly, but Minseok hoped this was a good thing.

 

"This was for that time I came to the door covered in paint right?" Luhan continued laughing.

 

"I'm kind of a clean freak so I saw that and felt bad you ruined your clothes..." Minseok said sheepishly. Everyone else started laughing along with Luhan.

 

Luhan got to the next part of the gift. He pulled out the two koala hats.

 

"For Xiao Huang and Zhu," Minseok said.

 

Luhan gave a small smile, although it had a different feeling than before. It almost seemed sad as the atmosphere in the room changed and everyone went silent. Minseok wasn't sure if he did something wrong, but everyone seemed to know except for him.

 

"There's a... a card too," he said quietly to break up the tension. Luhan, who seemed a bit lost, snapped back to reality and pulled out the card. The Chinese characters were written a bit stiffly and the grammar wasn't all correct, but Luhan still understood as he read it in silence.

 

_Dear Luhan,_

_Happy birthday. I still don't know your age but you look very youthful... that's a good thing... anyway, I am sorry for the way I treated you... I'm not very good at the neighborly thing. It’s not personal. Don't worry about the sign and everything. I'm glad Zhu and Xiao Huang shit on my lawn... Maybe not glad but I'm glad that their owner is such a nice person. So I'm honored for them to enjoy my mailbox so much. I hope we can get on better terms. I don't deserve your kindness._

_-Kim Minseok_

 

Luhan looked up at Minseok with a wide smile and thanked him. For a split second, the spark in his eyes had returned. Everyone else seemed to notice and the atmosphere became lighter again.

 

-

 

Following the party, Luhan seemed better at first. Minseok saw him go outside a bit more to tend to his yard, but it was awhile until he walked his dogs again. Although now, Minseok only spotted one.

 

He knew that it was the light colored one, Xiao Huang (Minseok looked up the name on Google translate and found that it meant “Little Yellow”). He wouldn’t admit it, but it became a daily part of Minseok’s routine to watch Luhan take Xiao Huang for a walk around the block. All this time, there was never any sign of Zhu.

 

“Tan, I wonder where Zhu is.”

 

_Maybe you hurt his feelings too._

 

“That’s not making me feel better.” Tan licked her paws. “I don’t think he’d just outright neglect his cat, right? He’s not that type of person.”

 

_Go talk to him then._

 

“Tan, you’re getting soft.”

 

_Well, so are you._

 

Minseok sighed and peered out the window at Luhan who was walking back to his house. He lifted his head and Minseok could still see the tiredness in his eyes. Luhan was about to go inside, when Minseok ran for it.

 

“Luhan!! Hey!!” Minseok called out. The loudness of his own voice sounded foreign to him. Luhan turned around, startled, and almost dropped his keys. Once he saw that it was Minseok, he gave him a shy smile.

 

“Hi, Minseok. What’s up?” Minseok stared into his eyes that looked red and glassy.

 

“I…” Minseok didn’t plan his words out beforehand. Quite a first. “You don’t look… so well…”

 

“Thank you for your concern,” Luhan said, looking down but still smiling. “I’m alright.”

 

“Um… okay…” Minseok bit his lip. “Where’s Zhu, by the way? I haven’t really seen him around.” Luhan looked up. It seemed like he was about to cry.

 

“He um… he passed… Last… last night…” Luhan’s eyes watered and Minseok coaxed him to sit down on the porch steps. They were silent for a while.

 

“Sorry about that… I mean I know if Tan died… actually I don’t know what I’d do…”

 

“Zhu had been suffering for quite a few weeks. Throwing up often, not eating; not wanting to move. So I was up at all hours of the night tending to him… He and Xiao Huang are usually so hyper and bound all over the house, but one day he just… didn’t. And Xiao Huang gave him space. So there were many trips to the vet until they just told me to let him live out his last couple of weeks and there was nothing left we could do. He was old. He had cancer. Last night he just seemed like he was in such… such pain… So I took him to the vet and had him put down.” Luhan sniffed. “It’s hard to watch the life drain out of anything, let alone someone you care about.” Minseok thought about how lifeless Luhan had seemed in the past few weeks and could somehow relate, but he couldn’t pinpoint why he could.

 

“He must’ve meant a lot to you?” Minseok was still unsure about comforting people, but he tried his best.

 

“He did. He meant a lot to Xiao Huang too, who I got as a kitten two years ago. I rescued Zhu when he was really young, about fifteen years ago already. Found him alone in a shoebox in the middle of the street. It seemed that the rest of the litter that was in there with him left, but he decided to stay behind. He was too scared, I think. He was scared of everything and I had to take him to my house in that same shoebox because he wouldn’t leave it for the longest time. He tried to claw off my face when I picked him up, but I took him in anyway. My mom hated him, and made him sleep in the garage. I had to sneak food to him whenever I could. He was my companion, though, since my parents worked long hours and I was an only child, of course, growing up in China in the 90s.” Minseok nodded.

 

“Sorry, I’m babbling again.” Luhan laughed and wiped away his wet face. “Zhu, I miss him terribly, but he’s not suffering anymore. I’m glad that I could take him in. In the end, he became pretty fearless. He was a strong cat and always looked after Xiao Huang. But I’ll be okay now because I have this furball.” He reached down to his feet and pet the small fluffball that Minseok hadn’t realized was there the entire time. Minseok reached down as well and expected to get a _lovely_ lick accompanied with dog spit, but instead he heard a soft purr and a rough not-dog-like tongue and pulled his hand back abruptly.

 

“Sorry to break the mood but did your dog just purr at me?! Because if he did I think Xiao Huang might be sick as well…” Luhan stared at him a moment and burst into uncontrollable laughter. He doubled over and made that ugly laughing face again as he cracked up (he honestly looked like he was in pain). Minseok looked at him, tears forming in Luhan’s eyes again but for a different reason. Minseok laughed nervously until Luhan composed himself enough to be able to speak in coherent sentences.

 

“Minseok! Look down! Just… Look down!” Luhan said between fits of giggles. Minseok did was he was told and was shocked to see a yellow cat staring up at him with huge golden eyes.

 

“A…a…cat? Xiao Huang and Zhu are CATS?!” Just then, Tan came running up and sat herself right on top of Xiao Huang. They smelled each other and started cuddling immediately. Minseok groaned as he remembered that he left his house so fast that he left the door slightly open.

 

“Yep. They’re cats,” Luhan said, petting Tan on the top of her head. “And at this rate, we might have more cats.”

 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME???”

 

“I tried. You didn’t listen.”

 

“Okay… but maybe the most important question is why you take your cats out on walks?”

 

“They really enjoyed it, actually. I think they were dogs in their past lives. I could never train either of them to use a litterbox so I said “hey, maybe they’ll do their business in a more natural environment” and they did. Whatever works, you know? I don’t want constipated cats, now do I?”

 

“No… no, I suppose not…” Minseok stared with disbelief. “That’s certainly… different.”

 

“You should try it sometime. We could go on walks together! There are so many friendly people in this neighborhood to talk to. I mean, everyone is just as shocked as you were when they see that I’m walking my cats.”

 

“I…”

 

“Just think about it. There’s nothing wrong with the unconventional. Plus, you need to get out more.”

 

“I get out. I have a job and stuff... What about you? Even a hippie, crazy cat, “unconventional” guy must have a job, right?”

 

“Yeah I do. I’m an artist. The most hippie thing imaginable.”

 

“…and you… that pays the bills?” Luhan laughed.

 

“Listen, my work is being shown in a gallery on Saturday. Stop by, okay?”

 

“I don’t know… that was the day I was planning on fertilizing my petunias and organizing my stamp collection…” Luhan have him a look. “Okay, okay, but I guess I can take a look for a little while…”

 

-

 

“You know, they say that sometimes pet owners start looking and acting like their pets.”

 

“Luhan, that’s ridiculous. Although you and Xiao Huang are the two most overactive cat owner and cat duo I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s why I thought you had dogs instead.”

 

They were out taking one of their many walks one early, early morning before Minseok had to leave for work sometime before 7:00.

 

“No, really. There was an article about it! Like, don’t Jongdae and Baekhee sort of act like hyper beagle puppies?! Baekhee even LOOKS like a puppy with those downturned eyes. And look! Just look.” Luhan picked up Xiao Huang and put him on his shoulder so their heads were side by side. “Same large, beautiful eyes, and tough, strong kitty paws.” He held up one of the cat’s tiny paws. “And wow look at his strong kitty legs! Just like my thick soccer thighs. Thick with SEVEN ‘Cs’ right? Thiccccccc. Oh! And especially since I dyed my hair blonde!”

 

“Hmmm… I guess. Although I prefer Xiao Huang. He’s a lot cuter. Less annoying too.”

 

“Well Xiao Huang prefers Tan. Clearly.” They both looked at Tan’s swollen stomach and laughed. “What was Tan like before she met my cat?”

 

“She was… kind of distant. Really chill and hated cuddling. Before you she always avoided the windows to avoid being spotted by other animals. Then, I don’t know, one day she just had this preoccupation with staring at your house.”

 

“Sort of like you, huh?”

 

“… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

 

“Pet owners and their pets can have similar personalities~” Luhan singsonged.

 

“Oh, so I guess all the _MANY_ times I saw Xiao Huang humping my precious little angel, it meant his owner is just as thirsty?”

 

“Uhh… well…”

 

Minseok laughed loudly, leaving Luhan in the dust with his mouth agape.

 

“Honestly, I’m not denying it…” Luhan mumbled as he ran to catch up with Minseok.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

Tan and Xiao Huang ended up having a litter of four. Xiao Huang moved in to Minseok’s house to help with kitten care, and Luhan moved in soon after.


End file.
